I realize facts often get in the way of people’s opinions, but here are some from the U. S. Census Bureau that should have a bearing on the way people think about the growing economic disparity in our nation.
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– the poverty line used by the government for an individual is $11,000 a year;
$15,000 for an individual with one child; $23,000 for a family of four.
– 31 million people lived below the poverty line in 2000, or 11 % of the
population; in 2009 that number was 46.2 million, or 15.1 %
– In 2010 the Census Bureau began factoring in cash benefits such as food
stamps, child tax credits, and school lunches, as many insisted it should,
but also began including expenses the poor must pay for health care,
housing, taxes (yes, they do pay), utilities. and child care. Instead of
dropping, the recalibrated figure rose to 49.1 million, or 16.1 %
– Using this new formula the number of Americans living below the poverty
line in 2011 grew by 600,000, primarily because of the number of people
working jobs at minimum wage or less.
– In addition to the nearly 50 million Americans below the poverty line,
another 50 million live just above the line for all the categories noted above.
This means that in a nation of 331 million people, 100 million officially live
in poverty and are hovering just above it.
– “…there are a record number of Americans on food stamps because there are a
record number of Americans in poverty.” (Jordan Weissman, The Atlantic magazine)
– In a third of the states judges jail people who cannot pay a traffic fine, even
though a Supreme Court ruling in 1983 said it was unconstitutional to imprison
people solely because they’re unable to pay such fines. In short, municipal courts
are doing what is illegal, but people are too poor to challenge the action.
– The wealthiest Americans have seen their income rise at a record pace during
the same period of time more and more Americans are falling into poverty or are
living on the edge of it.
– The overwhelming majority of people living in poverty or near it have jobs
that pay minimum wage or less.
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These are facts that represent a trend toward increasing poverty here in the U. S. the likes of which we have not seen in a very long time.
Some people will continue to believe the poor are made up mostly of people who are lazy and don’t want to work, and that public assistance has created a “nanny state” that encourages people to do nothing to help themselves.
But I side with those who look at these facts and see people who don’t want to be poor, people who would prefer to have a decent job that pays a fair wage rather than subsisting on help from the government that keeps them well below the poverty line. I believe the poor are people who at the moment need help they wish they didn’t have to accept.
So I support public policies that reflect the best about us as a people, and help the “least of these” among us Jesus talked about. It seems to me that is the “least” I can do, and I don’t believe for a minute that doing so is creating a nation of “dependents.” It is, instead, nurturing a nation of inter-dependents, making our country better than it might otherwise be.
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